Akiebia Hicks Ph.D. ’23
Hicks serves Connecticut’s communities by helping make parks accessible to all
When she was a first-year doctoral student in Clemson University’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Akiebia Hicks was invited to present her research at a leadership conference.
Hicks was hesitant at the time, but her advisor, Associate Professor Aby Sène-Harper, and Professor of Practice Phil Gaines ’81 encouraged her to take the opportunity. It changed the trajectory of her career.
Hicks was studying employee job satisfaction within the National Park Service, a topic that grew from her experiences working at several national parks in the Southeast. After her presentation, the director of Connecticut State Parks approached her.
“He offered me a job on the spot,” she recalls. “He said, ‘I don’t know exactly what we’re going to hire you for, but we really want you to come to Connecticut.’”
Once she graduated, he followed through on his promise, and Hicks began working as a project manager for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Hicks focused on accessibility efforts in parks, starting with the introduction of all-terrain wheelchairs. She took a thorough approach to the project, crafting manuals, conducting training sessions, considering policy and, most importantly, holding demonstration days to gather feedback from community members who would be using the wheelchairs. She took the feedback and revisited aspects that had been overlooked, from headrests to chargers for medical devices.
She also instituted a program to transport residents from nearby cities to state parks and forests. After receiving feedback, it evolved into an excursion-style program, with Hicks leading activities ranging from beach days to saltwater fishing.
Her thoughtful approach sums up the way Hicks takes on all her projects — making sure the community members who participate are heard and that their feedback is integrated to make the program successful and impactful. At the core of each project she takes on, Hicks returns to the same action: listening.
The programs have persisted even while Hicks has transitioned to a different role. She now serves as a wildlife biologist focusing on how humans interact with nature. A large part of her job involves assisting locals with home entry from bears, along with public outreach, education and resources.
It is a different side of the nature-based work she has done, but Hicks keeps the same attitude in her current role. She solicits feedback through listening sessions and postsession surveys, and she reads every comment. Then, she follows up.
“I think a really important part of being a public servant is taking the time to get to know the people that you are serving,” Hicks says.
Hicks often thinks back to the conference where Sène-Harper and Gaines encouraged her to present her research even though she did not feel ready.
“That single speaking opportunity changed everything in my professional trajectory,” she says. “None of it would have happened if Clemson didn’t create that opportunity in the first place.”
Fun Fact: Hicks is a music producer whose work has been submitted for Grammy consideration in the Best Instrumental Composition category.
Photography by Justyn Bell
